A. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a no-till planter to be used for planting seed and dispensing fertilizer without tilling the soil. The ability to plant seed and place fertilizer adjacent thereto, without tilling the soil has been hailed as a means of minimizing loss of moisture and erosion.
B. Background
Traditionally, the means for planting seed in large quantities has been by using large tractor pulled plows, tillers and other farm implements. These implements are pulled across the soil thereby breaking the upper crust of the top soil and breaking up any surface vegetation. As the seed planter is pulled across the tilled soil, seed is continuously placed in a row and covered where it is left to germinate. Later after the seed has germinated the plants and crops must be thinned out in order to give each plant an opportunity to form an adequate root system. Manual thinning of plants is a labor intensive procedure.
Additionally, tilling of the soil can result in propagation of unwanted weeds, particularly those weeds propagated by rhizomes. During the tilling operation the rhizomes are cut up by the farm implements thereby resulting in the propagation of additional weed plants. While no-till planting has been recognized by many, no suitable tractor pulled planter is available.
Seed planters and fertilizer applicators are known in the art. However, most of these devices require a series of hand and foot manuevers in order to accomplish piercing of the soil and metering of the seed or fertilizer. While these devices may prove to be useful to a hobbyist planting a small garden patch they are totally inappropriate for large scale planting and large scale farming.
An example of a prior mechanical implement for depositing seed or fertilizer is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,477,097 to F. J. Anderson et al. However this implement exhibits shortcomings in its operation. One particular shortcoming of the mechanical implement disclosed by Anderson et al. is the clogging of the dispensing device as it enters the soil. This clogging is caused by an open, unobstructed orifice being used as part of the piercing mechanism.